User interface display method and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

A user interface (UI) display method is provided. The UI display method includes displaying an operation window including one or more setting items on a screen, and if a first one of the setting items is inputted, causing at least a part or all of the remaining operation window part except for the first item not to be displayed on the screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 14/781,470, filed on Sep. 30, 2015, which is a U.S. National Stageapplication under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of an International application filedon Mar. 28, 2014 and assigned application number PCT/KR2014/002647,which claimed the benefit of a Korean patent application filed on Apr.1, 2013 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned SerialNo. 10-2013-0035358, the entire disclosure of each of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a screen display technique. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a user interface (UI)display method and apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Recently, with the rapid development of electronic technologies,functions of electronic devices, such as computers, laptop computers,tablet personal computers (PCs), navigation systems, smartphones,cellular phones, and so forth, have been diversified, and the currentlyreleased electronic devices offer various user interfaces (UIs) for userconvenience. A UI may perform prompt and intuitive information deliverythrough simple manipulation. Thus, to allow users to conveniently useelectronic devices, UI-related techniques have been actively developed.

Among UI techniques of the related art, a UI display-related techniqueincludes displaying a manipulation unit on an entire screen or a partialscreen once a user pops up the manipulation unit necessary for a workenvironment.

In addition, Korean Patent Publication No. 2010-0041444 (Title: Methodand Apparatus for Displaying Transparent Pop-up Including AdditionalInformation Corresponding to Information Selected on Touchscreen,Inventor: Tae-Kyun Cho, Applicant: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.,Publication Date: Nov. 9, 2011) is a technique related to UI displayaccording to the related art, which discloses a technique for displayinga transparent pop-up including additional information corresponding toinformation located in the same area as the displayed pop-up withoutclosing the displayed pop-up.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate UI display operations according to therelated art and FIG. 2 illustrates a UI display operation according tothe related art.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a UI display technique of the relatedart provides a screen for manipulation by a user as an entire screen ora partial screen, and the user has to close or move the providedmanipulation screen to check data below the manipulation screen. Forexample, if the user desires to manipulate a brightness of a screen bypulling down a notification bar on the home screen as shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B, the user may not check the home screen having the actually setbrightness and thus may have to adjust the brightness again. Also, asshown in FIG. 2, if a pop-up menu is generated to change attributes of asquare, the square is entirely or partially occluded, such that anadditional operation of moving the pop-up menu is needed to check if adesired color is correctly reflected.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a user interface (UI) display method andapparatus for minimizing a part occluded by an operation window when auser pops up the operation window on a screen. Thus, when the user popsup a window for an additional operation on a work screen, the user mayperform a desired operation without taking additional trouble to movethe additional operation window and may immediately check the screen towhich the operation is reflected.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a UI displaymethod is provided. The UI display method includes displaying anoperation window including one or more setting items on a screen and, ifan input is generated on a first item among the one or more settingitems of the operation window displayed on the screen, causing at leasta part or all of a remaining part of the operation window except for thefirst item not to be displayed on the screen.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a UIdisplay apparatus is provided. The UI display apparatus includes aninput unit configured to receive a user's operation, a display unitconfigured to display an execution image and an operation state and amenu state of an application, and a controller configured to display anoperation window including one or more setting items on the displayunit, and if an input is generated on a first item among the one or moresetting items of the operation window displayed on the display unitaccording to an input through the input unit, to control at least a partor all of a remaining part of the operation window except for the firstitem not to be displayed on the display unit.

As described above, by using a UI display method and apparatus accordingto the present disclosure, when a user pops up a screen for an operationon a screen, a part occluded by the operation screen may be minimized.Thus, an additional operation of the user, such as moving a popup menuto prevent the popup menu from occluding a picture below the popup menu,may not be necessary. Moreover, an operation and a screen to which theoperation is actually applied may be immediately checked.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate user interface (UI) display operationsaccording to the related art;

FIG. 2 illustrates a UI display operation according to the related art;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a portable terminal device for performing aUI display operation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a UI display operation according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate UI displays corresponding to a handtouch according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a mouse inputaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a mouse inputaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate UI displays corresponding to a handtouch according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a hand touchaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a portable terminal device for performing auser interface (UI) display operation according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, a portable terminal device 100 may include acontroller 110, a mobile communication module 120, the sub communicationmodule 130, a multimedia module 140, a camera module 150, a globalpositioning system (GPS) module 155, an input/output module 160, asensor module 170, a storing module 175, a power supply module 180, adisplay module 190, and a display control module 195.

The sub communication module 130 includes at least one of a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) module 131 and a short-range communicationmodule 132. The multimedia module 140 includes at least one of abroadcast communication module 141, an audio playback module 142 and avideo playback module 143. The camera module 150 includes at least oneof a first camera 151 and a second camera 152. The input/output module(also called an input/output unit) 160 includes at least one of a button161, a microphone 162, a speaker 163, a vibration motor 164, a connector165, a keypad 166, and an earphone connecting jack 167. The followingdescription will be made based on an example that the display module 190and the display control module 195 are a touchscreen and a touchscreencontroller, respectively.

The power supply module 180 supplies power to one or more batteries (notshown) disposed in a housing of the portable terminal device 100 undercontrol of the controller 110. The one or more batteries supply power tothe portable terminal device 100. The power supply module 180 may alsosupply power input from an external power source (not shown) through awired cable connected with the connector 165 to the portable terminaldevice 100. The power supply module 180 may also supply power, which iswirelessly input from an external power source using a wireless chargingtechnique, to the portable terminal device 100.

The camera module 150 may include at least one of the first camera 151and the second camera 152 which capture a still image or a video undercontrol of the controller 110.

The multimedia module 140 may include the broadcast communication module141, the audio playback module 142, or the video playback module 143.The broadcast communication module 141 receives a broadcast signal (forexample, a television (TV) broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal,or a data broadcast signal) and broadcast additional information (forexample, an electric program guide (EPG) or an electric service guide(ESG)) transmitted from a broadcasting station (not shown) via abroadcast communication antenna (not shown) under control of thecontroller 110. The audio playback module 142 may play a digital audiofile (for example, a file having a file extension such as ‘mp3’, ‘wma’,‘ogg’, or ‘wav’) stored or received under control of the controller 110.The video playback module 143 may play a digital video file (forexample, a file having a file extension such as ‘mpeg’, ‘mpg’, ‘mp4’,‘avi’, ‘mov’, or ‘mkv’) stored or received under control of thecontroller 110. The video playback module 143 may play a digital audiofile.

The multimedia module 140 may include the audio playback module 142 andthe video playback module 143, except for the broadcast communicationmodule 141. Also, the audio playback module 142 and/or the videoplayback module 143 of the multimedia module 140 may be included in thecontroller 110.

The mobile communication module 120 may facilitate the connectionbetween the portable terminal device 100 and an external device throughmobile communication by using at least one or plural antennas (notshown) under control of the controller 110. The mobile communicationmodule 120 transmits/receives a wireless signal for a voice call, avideo call, a text message (i.e., a short messaging service (SMS)),and/or a multimedia message (i.e., a multimedia messaging service (MMS))with a cellular phone (not shown), a smart phone (not shown), a tabletpersonal computer (PC), or another device (not shown) which has a phonenumber input into the portable terminal device 100. The mobilecommunication module 120 is connected with the wireless Internet orwirelessly transmits/receives a wireless signal to/from nearby devicesin a space where an access point (AP) is installed through wirelessfidelity (Wi-Fi) or a third generation (3G)/fourth generation (4G) datanetwork, under control of the controller 110.

The sub communication module 130 may include at least one of the WLANmodule 131 and the short-range communication module 132.

The WLAN module 131 may be connected to the Internet in a place where awireless AP (not shown) is installed, under control of the controller110. The WLAN module 131 supports the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) wireless LAN standard 802.11x. Theshort-range communication module 132 may wirelessly perform short-rangecommunication between the portable terminal devices 100 under control ofthe controller 110.

The portable terminal device 100 may include at least one of the mobilecommunication module 120, the WLAN module 131, and the short-rangecommunication module 132, depending on its capability. For example, theportable terminal device 100 may include a combination of the mobilecommunication module 120, the WLAN module 131, and the short-rangecommunication module 132 depending on its capability.

The GPS module 155 receives signals from a plurality of GPS satellites(not shown) that orbit the Earth and calculates a position of theportable terminal device 100 using time of arrival from the GPSsatellite (not shown) to the portable terminal device 100.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor for detecting a stateof the portable terminal device 100. For example, the sensor module 170may include at least one of a proximity sensor for detecting the user'sproximity with respect to the portable terminal device 100, a motionsensor (not shown) for detecting an operation of the portable terminaldevice 100 (for example, rotation, acceleration, deceleration,vibration, etc. of the portable terminal device 100), an illuminationsensor (not shown) for detecting an amount of light around the portableterminal device 100, a gravity sensor for detecting a working directionof gravity, and an altimeter for measuring an atmospheric pressure todetect an altitude. The sensor module 170 may also include ageo-magnetic sensor (not shown) for detecting a point of the compass byusing the Earth's magnetic field, and an inertial sensor for measuringan angular displacement in a predetermined direction or a variation ratethereof.

The sensor of the sensor module 170 may be added or removed depending onthe capability of the portable terminal device 100. The sensor module170 detects a state of the portable terminal device 100 and generates asignal corresponding to the detection to output the signal to thecontroller 110.

The input/output module 160 (also called an input/output unit) mayinclude the at least one button 161, the microphone 162, the speaker163, the vibration element 164, the connector 165, and the keypad 166.

The at least one button 161 may be formed on at least one of a frontsurface, a side surface, and a rear surface of the housing of theportable terminal device 100, and may include at least one of apower/lock button (not shown), a volume button (not shown), a menubutton, a home button, a back button, and a search button.

The microphone 162 receives a voice or sound and generates acorresponding electric signal under control of the controller 110.

The speaker 163 may include a plurality of speakers and be formed in oneor more positions of the portable terminal device 100. The speaker 163outputs a sound corresponding to various signals (for example, wirelessdata, broadcast data, a digital audio file, a digital video file, apicture, or the like) of the mobile communication module 120, the subcommunication module 130, the multimedia module 140, or the cameramodule 150 under control of the controller 110. The speaker 163 mayoutput sound corresponding to a function executed by the portableterminal device 100 (for example, button manipulation soundcorresponding to a phone call, or a ring back tone).

The vibration motor 164 converts an electric signal into mechanicalvibration under control of the controller 110. For example, in theportable terminal device 100, in a vibration mode, if a voice call fromanother device (not shown) is received, the vibration motor 164operates. One or more of the vibration element 164 may be disposed inthe housing of the portable terminal device 100. The vibration element164 may operate in response to a user's touch action of touching thetouch screen 190 and a continuous movement of a touch on the touchscreen 190.

The connector 165 may be used as an interface for connecting theportable terminal device 100 with an external device (not shown) or apower source (not shown). Under control of the controller 110, theportable terminal device 100 transmits data stored in the storing module175 of the portable terminal device 100 to an external device (notshown) or receives data from the external device through a wired cableconnected to the connector 165. The portable terminal device 100receives power from the power source (not shown) through the wired cableconnected to the connector 165 or charges a battery (not shown) by usingthe power source.

The keypad 166 receives key input from the user for control of theportable terminal device 100. The keypad 166 includes a physical keypad(not shown) formed in the portable terminal device 100 or a virtualkeypad (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 190. The physicalkeypad (not shown) formed in the portable terminal device 100 may beexcluded according to the capability or structure of the portableterminal device 100.

An earphone (not shown) may be inserted into the earphone connectingjack 167 to be connected to the portable terminal device 100.

The touch screen 190 receives a user's manipulation and displays anexecution image of an application program and an operation state and amenu state. That is, the touch screen 190 provides a UI corresponding tovarious services (for example, call, data transmission, broadcasting,picture taking) to the user. The touch screen 190 transmits an analogsignal corresponding to at least one touch input into the UI to thetouch screen controller 195. The touch screen 190 receives at least onetouch input through a user's body (for example, a finger including athumb) or a touchable input means (for example, a stylus pen). The touchscreen 190 receives a continuous movement of at least one touch. Thetouch screen 190 delivers an analog signal corresponding to the receivedcontinuous movement of the touch to the touch screen controller 195.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch is not limited to adirect contact between the touch screen 190 and a user's body or atouchable input means, and may also include a non-contact touch. Adetectable interval from the touch screen 190 may be changed accordingto the capability or structure of the portable terminal device 100. Forexample, to separately detect a direct touch event based on a contactwith the user input means and non-contact touch event (for example, ahovering event), the touch screen 190 may be configured to outputdifferent values (for example, current values) for the touch event andfor the hovering event. The touch screen 190 may preferably outputdifferent detected values (for example, current values) according to adistance between a space where the hovering event occurs and the touchscreen 190.

The touch screen 190 may be implemented, for example, as a resistivetype, a capacitive type, an electro-magnetic resonance (EMR) type, aninfrared type, or an acoustic wave type.

The touch screen controller 195 converts an analog signal received fromthe touch screen 190 to a digital signal (for example, X and Ycoordinates) and delivers the digital signal to the controller 110. Thecontroller 110 may control the touch screen 190 using the digital signalreceived from the touch screen controller 195. For example, thecontroller 110 may control selection or execution of a shortcut icon (oran application corresponding thereto) displayed on the touch screen 190in response to a touch event or a hovering event. The touch screencontroller 195 may be incorporated into the controller 110.

The touch screen controller 195 detects a value (for example, a currentvalue) output through the touch screen 190, identifies a distancebetween the space where the hovering event occurs and the touch screen190, converts the identified distance into a digital signal (forexample, a Z coordinate), and provides the digital signal to thecontroller 110.

The touch screen 190 may include at least two touch panels capable ofsensing a touch or proximity of the user's body and the touchable inputmeans to simultaneously receive inputs by the user's body and thetouchable input means. The at least two touch panels provide differentoutput values to the touch screen controller 195. Thus, the touch screencontroller 195 differently recognizes the values input from the at leasttwo touch screen panels to identify whether the input from the touchscreen 190 is the input generated by the user's body or the touchableinput means.

The storing module 175 stores a signal or data which is input/outputto/from the mobile communication module 120, the sub communicationmodule 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module 150, the GPSmodule 155, the input/output module 160, the sensor module 170, or thetouch screen 190, under control of the controller 110. The storingmodule 175 may also store a control program and applications for controlof the portable terminal device 100 and/or the controller 110.

The term “storing module” includes the storing module 175, a read onlymemory (ROM) 112 and a random access memory (RAM) 113 in the controller110, or a memory card (not shown) mounted in the portable terminaldevice 100 (for example, a secure digital (SD) card, a memory stick).The storing module may include a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory,a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD).

The controller 110 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, the ROM112 in which a control program for controlling the portable terminaldevice 100 is stored, and the RAM 113 which stores a signal or datainput from the portable terminal device 100 or is used as a memoryregion for a task performed in the portable terminal device 100. The CPU111 may include a single core, a dual core, a triple core, or a quadcore processor. The CPU 111, the ROM 112, and the RAM 113 may beinterconnected through an internal bus.

The controller 110 controls the mobile communication module 120, the subcommunication module 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module150, the GPS module 155, the input/output module 160, the sensor module170, the storing module 175, the power supply module 180, the touchscreen 190, and the touch screen controller 195.

According to characteristics of a UI display operation of the presentdisclosure, the controller 110 may control at least a part or all of theremaining operation window part except for a first item on an operationwindow displayed on the touch screen 190 not to be displayed on thetouch screen 190, if an input is generated onto the first item among oneor more setting items of the operation window displayed on the touchscreen 190 due to an input through the touch screen 190. If the input tothe first item is ended after the controller 110 controls at least apart or all of the remaining operation window part except for the firstitem on the operation window displayed on the touch screen 190 not to bedisplayed on the touch screen 190, the controller 110 controls the atleast a part or all of the remaining operation window part except forthe first item on the operation window displayed on the touch screen 190to be displayed on the touch screen 190 again.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a UI display operation according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, if an input is generated in a part the useractually operates after an operation window is displayed on the screen,the remaining operation window part except for the part where the inputis generated disappears from the screen. Moreover, if the user's inputis terminated (if the focus is off for selection completion or anotheroperation), an initially provided operation window is restored on thescreen. Thus, the illustrated example provides the operation window theuser may change and the screen onto which an operation is to bereflected at the same time.

In operation 201, an operation part is executed by a user's manipulationor operation such as a voice input, a touch, a pressing of a button, orthe like, and in operation 203, a window of the executed operation isdisplayed on the screen. The operation part may be, for example, anenvironment setting or a notification bar of a portable terminal device,and the operation window may include one or more setting items. Thesetting items may include various items, for example, a screenbrightness setting, a font size setting, a volume setting, and so forth.The window operation displayed on the screen may be displayed as theentire screen or a partial screen of the portable terminal device.

In operation 205, it is determined whether an input is generated on afirst item among the one or more setting items of the operation window.The input may include a pressing of a button, a touch, a hovering input,a voice input, etc. to activate the first item.

If it is determined in operation 205 that the input is generated on thefirst item of the operation window, the process goes to operation 207.Otherwise, if it is determined that the input is not generated on thefirst item of the operation window, operations are terminated.

In operation 207, the remaining part of the operation window except forthe operation window is caused not to be displayed on the screen. Thisis intended to display only the first item on the screen by changing ascreen setting in such a way so as not to display the remaining part ofthe operation window except for the first item, if an input is generatedin a part the user actually manipulates.

In operation 209, it is determined whether a screen setting has changedby the input generated on the first item of the operation window. If itis determined in operation 209 that the screen setting has changed bythe input generated on the first item of the operation window, theprocess goes to operation 211. Otherwise, if it is determined inoperation 209 that the screen setting has not changed by the inputgenerated on the first item of the operation window, the process goes tooperation 213.

In operation 211, the setting change is applied to the screen.

In operation 213, it is determined whether the input of the first itemis terminated. The input termination may correspond to a case wheresetting of the first item has completed by selection of an end button ora cancel button, or selection of a back button. The input terminationmay be input termination corresponding to the elapse of a preset time orgeneration of an input in a part other than the first item. If it isdetermined in operation 213 that the input of the first item isterminated, the process goes to operation 215, and if it is determinedin operation 213 that the input of the first item is not terminated, theprocess goes back to operation 207.

In operation 215, the remaining part of the operation window except forthe first item is caused to be displayed on the screen again. Thisoperation restores the operation window.

FIGS. 5A to 5D illustrate UI displays corresponding to a hand touchaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5D, when an operation window is displayed asthe entire screen on a home screen, upon a touch input onto a scroll barfor adjusting screen brightness as shown in FIG. 5A, the remaining partof the operation window except for the scroll bar disappears from thescreen as shown in FIG. 5B, displaying only the scroll bar on the homescreen. In this state, if a point of the scroll bar is moved through thetouch and/or the drag, the screen brightness is changed and appliedaccording to a position of the point of the scroll bar as shown in FIG.5C. Once the touch is removed from the scroll bar, the operation isrestored on the home screen as shown in FIG. 5D.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an operationpart in a desktop or laptop computer may be a setting menu includingsetting items such as background setting, resolution setting, and soforth or an edit menu for a document, an image, and so forth. An inputgenerated in a first item, which is one or more setting items of theoperation window, may include a mouse over, a mouse click, a mouse drag,or the like.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a mouse inputaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, a UI display operation corresponding to amouse input will be described below. When an operation window isdisplayed on the screen overlappingly with an image as shown in FIG. 6A,if a mouse over occurs on a theme color item to apply a figure fillingeffect to the image, the remaining part of the operation window exceptfor the theme color item disappears from the screen as shown in FIG. 6B,displaying only the theme color item on the image. Thereafter, accordingto the position of the point of the mouse, the color of the image ischanged into a color where the mouse over is positioned. When a color isclicked by the mouse, the color is applied to the image and the themecolor item disappears from the screen, displaying only the image on thescreen.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a mouse inputaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, a UI display operation corresponding to amouse input according to another embodiment of the present disclosurewill be described below. When an operation window is displayed on thescreen overlappingly with an image as shown in FIG. 7A, if a mouse overoccurs on a three-dimensional (3D) rotation item to apply 3D rotation tothe image, the remaining part of the operation window except for the 3Drotation item disappears from the screen as shown in FIG. 7B, displayingonly the 3D rotation item on the image. Thereafter, according to theposition of the mouse over, the image is rotated in a rotation directionof the rotation item where the mouse over is positioned. In this case,if one rotation item is clicked by the mouse, the image is rotated in arotation direction of the rotation item, and the operation window asshown in FIG. 7A is displayed on the screen again.

FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate UI displays corresponding to a hand touchaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 8A to 8C, a UI display operation corresponding to ahand touch will be described below. Referring to FIG. 8A to 8C, when ascreen including an indicator area 11 and a notification area 12 isdisplayed on the home screen as shown in FIG. 8A, an item forautomatically or manually setting the screen brightness of the portableterminal device (hereinafter, referred to as an auto brightness modeon/off switch) among setting items for changing specific setting of aportable terminal device may be positioned in a preset part of theindicator area 11. The auto brightness mode on/off switch may switch onor off an auto brightness mode by a user input, for example, a sort oftouch, a tap (a gesture of shortly and lightly tapping the screen withone finger).

FIG. 8A illustrates a screen on which the auto brightness mode enters anon state, and if the indicator area 11 is displayed on the screen, theauto brightness mode is automatically switched on. If the autobrightness mode is switched on as shown in FIG. 8A, the brightness ofthe displayed screen may be automatically adjusted to a preset value asshown in FIG. 8A.

When the auto brightness mode is switched on as shown in FIG. 8A, if atap is input to the auto brightness mode on/off switch, the autobrightness mode may be switched off and a scroll bar for adjusting thescreen brightness may be displayed as shown in FIG. 8B. If another tapis input to the auto brightness mode on/off switch in the state shown inFIG. 8B, the screen where the auto brightness mode is in the on state asshown in FIG. 8A may be displayed. Referring to FIG. 8B, to display thescroll bar for a user's manually setting the screen brightness on apreset part under the auto brightness mode on/off switch, thenotification area 12 including notification items is moved down and theindicator area 11 including setting items is enlarged to display thescroll bar for manually adjusting the screen brightness in a preset partof the indicator area 11. Thereafter, once the point of the scroll baris moved in the scroll bar for adjusting the screen brightness by atouch and/or a drag, the remaining part except for the indicator area 11disappears from the screen as shown in FIG. 8C, thus displaying only theindicator area 11 including the setting items and the scroll bar foradjusting the screen brightness on the screen to adjust the brightnessof the screen. If a tap is further input onto the auto brightness modeon/off switch on the screen as shown in FIG. 8C, the screen as shown inFIG. 8A may be displayed on the screen again.

For a portable terminal device including a temperature measurementmodule for measuring the temperature of the portable terminal device,screen brightness adjustment may be limited according to the temperatureof the portable terminal device. For example, if the temperature of theportable terminal device is between about 25° C. and 44° C., a maximumbrightness adjustable value may be set to 300 cd, and if the temperatureof the portable terminal device is higher than 54° C., a maximumbrightness adjustable value may be set to 40 cd. According to suchsetting, if there is a user input for adjusting the brightness of thescreen over a maximum brightness adjustable value set to correspondingto a particular temperature at the particular temperature in theportable terminal device, adjustment over the maximum brightnessadjustable value may be limited. In addition, for example, a messageindicating that further brightness adjustment is not possible due to ahigh temperature of the portable terminal device may be displayed on thescreen to inform the user of such a situation.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate UI displays corresponding to a hand touchaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, when an operation window as shown in FIG.9A is displayed on a home screen (or a screen where another specificapplication is executed), upon input of a tap, which is a sort of touch,to a brightness setting icon for manually setting the brightness of thescreen, then a scroll bar for adjusting the brightness of the screen maybe displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 9B. In this state, theremaining part except for the scroll bar disappears, thus displayingonly the scroll bar on the home screen (or the screen where anotherspecific application is executed). Also, to automatically adjust thebrightness of the screen, a checkbox for selecting Auto may be displayedat a side of the scroll bar, and upon input of a tap on the checkbox,the screen as shown in FIG. 9A may be displayed.

The structures and operations of the UI display method and apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be made asdescribed above, and while embodiments have been described in theforegoing description of the present disclosure, other variousembodiments of the present disclosure, various modifications, andchanges may be made. For example, all or some of the respectiveoperations described in the present specification may be simultaneouslyperformed in parallel, may be skipped, or may include other additionaloperations.

For example, in the foregoing embodiment, if it is determined that aninput is generated on a first item of an operation window, the remainingpart of the operation window except for the first item is not displayedon the screen, but at least a part of the operation window except forthe first item may be additionally displayed.

Moreover, if an input is generated on a first item among one or moresetting items of an operation window displayed on the screen, theremaining part of the operation window displayed on the screen exceptfor the first item may be displayed semi-transparently.

Also, in the aforementioned embodiment, if it is determined that theinput is generated on the first item of the operation window, theremaining part of the operation window except for the first item is notdisplayed and a position where the first item is displayed is notchanged. However, if it is determined that the input is generated on thefirst item of the operation window, the remaining part of the operationwindow except for the first item may not be displayed on the screen andthe display position of the first item may be automatically changed.

It can be seen that the embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented with hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware. Such arbitrary software may be stored, whether or not erasableor re-recordable, in a volatile or non-volatile storage such as a ROM, amemory such as a RAM, a memory chip, a device, or an integrated circuit,and an optically or magnetically recordable and machine (e.g.,computer)-readable storage medium such as a compact disc (CD), a digitalversatile disc (DVD), a magnetic disk, or a magnetic tape. It can beseen that a memory that may be included in the portable terminal deviceis an example of a machine-readable storage medium which is suitable forstoring a program or programs including instructions for implementingthe embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the presentdisclosure includes a program including codes for implementing anapparatus or method claimed in an arbitrary claim and a machine-readablestorage medium for storing such a program. The program may beelectronically transferred through an arbitrary medium such as acommunication signal delivered through wired or wireless connection, andthe present disclosure properly includes equivalents thereof.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a touchdisplay; and at least one processor configured to: display, on the touchdisplay, a first screen, display, on the touch display, a second screenwhich comprises an operation window comprising at least one icon and abrightness adjusting area for a scroll bar and an indicator indicating apoint on the scroll bar, wherein the at least one icon is forcontrolling at least one function of the electronic apparatus and/or fornotifying at least one event occurred in the electronic apparatus,wherein a brightness of the touch display corresponds to the point onthe scroll bar which is indicated by the indicator, while a touch draginput corresponding to the brightness adjusting area is received toadjust the brightness of the touch display, control a part of theoperation window not to be displayed on the touch display so that aportion of the first screen underneath the part of the operation windowis visible together with the brightness adjusting area of the operationwindow and, adjust the brightness of the touch display according to aposition of the touch drag input, and in response to release of thetouch drag input, display, on the touch display, the part of theoperation window which was not displayed while receiving the touch draginput on the touch display.
 2. The electronic apparatus of claim 1,wherein the touch drag input comprises a continuous movement of a touchon the touch display without release of the touch.
 3. The electronicapparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to display, on the touch display, the operation window inresponse to a user's pull-down operation on the touch display.
 4. Theelectronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to display, on the touch display, the part of theoperation window together with the brightness adjusting scroll bar area,so that the operation window is restored.
 5. The electronic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the operation window is displayed to occupy all or aportion of the first screen.
 6. A user interface (UI) display methodcomprising: displaying a first screen; displaying a second screen whichcomprises an operation window comprising at least one icon, and abrightness adjusting area for a scroll bar and an indicator indicating apoint on the scroll bar, wherein the at least one icon is forcontrolling at least one function of an electronic apparatus and/or fornotifying at least one event occurred in the electronic apparatus,wherein a brightness of a touch display corresponds to the point on thescroll bar which is indicated by the indicator; while a touch drag inputcorresponding to the brightness adjusting area is received to adjust thebrightness of the touch display, controlling a part of the operationwindow not to be displayed on the touch display so that a portion of thefirst screen underneath the part of the operation window is visibletogether with the brightness adjusting area of the operation window and,adjusting the brightness of the touch display according to a position ofthe touch drag input; and in response to release of the touch draginput, displaying the part of the operation window which was notdisplayed while receiving the touch drag input.
 7. The UI display methodof claim 6, wherein the touch drag input comprises a continuous movementof a touch on the touch display without release of the touch.
 8. The UIdisplay method of claim 6, wherein the displaying of the operationwindow comprises displaying the operation window in response to a user'spull-down operation on the touch display.
 9. The UI display method ofclaim 6, wherein the displaying of the part of the operation windowwhich was not displayed while receiving the touch drag input comprisesdisplaying the part of the operation window together with the brightnessadjusting area, so that the operation window is restored.
 10. The UIdisplay method of claim 6, wherein the operation window is displayed tooccupy all or a portion of the first screen.
 11. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted, cause at least one processor to perform: displaying a firstscreen; displaying a second screen which comprises an operation windowcomprising at least one icon, and a brightness adjusting area for ascroll bar and an indicator indicating a point on the scroll bar,wherein the at least one icon is for controlling at least one functionof an electronic apparatus and/or for notifying at least one eventoccurred in the electronic apparatus, wherein a brightness of a touchdisplay corresponds to the point on the scroll bar which is indicated bythe indicator; while a touch drag input corresponding to the brightnessadjusting area is received to adjust the brightness of the touchdisplay, controlling a part of the operation window not to be displayedon the touch display so that a portion of the first screen underneaththe part of the operation window is visible together with the brightnessadjusting area of the operation window and, adjusting the brightness ofthe touch display according to a position of the touch drag input; andin response to release of the touch drag input, displaying the part ofthe operation window which was not displayed while receiving the touchdrag input.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 11, wherein the touch drag input comprises a continuous movementof a touch on the touch display without release of the touch.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein thedisplaying of the operation window comprises displaying the operationwindow in response to a user's pull-down operation on the touch display.14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11,wherein the displaying of the part of the operation window which was notdisplayed while receiving the touch drag input comprises displaying thepart of the operation window together with the brightness adjustingarea, so that the operation window is restored.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the operationwindow is displayed to occupy all or a portion of the first screen.